Update on the latest sports
APMLB-CUBS-ASTROS-ODORIZZI
Astros boost rotation with Odorizzi’s $20.25M, 2-year deaL
UNDATED (AP) — Right-hander Jake Odorizzi and the Houston Astros have finalized a $20.25 million, two-year contract that includes a player option for 2023 and could be worth at least $33.25 million over three seasons.
Odorizzi enhances a Houston rotation that lost Framber Valdéz indefinitely to a broken finger this spring. Astros ace Justin Verlander also is sidelined while recovering from Tommy John surgery. An All-Star with Minnesota in 2019, Odorizzi was limited to four starts last season because of injuries. He was 0-1 with a 6.59 ERA for the Twins during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— Chicago’s two major league baseball teams will be allowed to host a limited number of fans starting on opening day. Mayor Lori Lightfoot says capacity for the Cubs at Wrigley Field and the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field will be set at 20%. That translates to as many as 8,122 fans for White Sox home games and 8,274 fans at Wrigley Field.
— Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has declined to specify why Jeremy Jeffress was released by the team. Rizzo says he considers it an “employment issue” and acknowledges it was not related to the reliever’s baseball performance. Washington cut ties with Jeffress on Sunday. He was a 2018 NL All-Star for the Brewers who was with the Cubs last season.
—The Minnesota Twins have been eagerly anticipating the addition of shortstop Andrelton Simmons this season. The native of Curaçao had been unable to leave the Caribbean island country until travel documentation was complete. The paperwork was delayed by the recent wave of extreme wintry weather. Then he had to clear COVID-19 protocols upon arrival at camp. Simmons signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the Twins.
—Rheal Cormier, the durable left-hander who spent 16 seasons in the majors and remarkably pitched in the Olympics before and after his time in the big leagues, has died. He was 53. The Philadelphia Phillies said Cormier died Monday of cancer at his home in New Brunswick, Canada. Cormier owned a neat nook in Phillies history: He was the winning pitcher in the final game that Philadelphia won at Veterans Stadium in 2003, and also was the winner in the first game the Phils won after moving into Citizens Bank Park in 2004.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NBA-ALL STAR GAME
Nobody tested positive at All-Star Game
ATLANTA (AP) — The NBA’s mini-bubble in Atlanta for the All-Star Game apparently worked. No players, coaches or game officials tested positive for COVID-19 while in Atlanta.
The NBA announcement Monday comes after the final tests were processed and results were returned to the league and the teams involved.
That includes Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, a pair of All-Stars who had to miss the game and left Atlanta early after being flagged through contact tracing. A barber both saw before going to Atlanta tested positive, and that meant Embiid and Simmons were potentially exposed to the virus. So by league policy this season, they couldn’t play Sunday night.
In other NBA news:
—Atlanta Hawks forward Cam Reddish has had a nonsurgical procedure after missing six games with soreness in his right Achilles. Reddish was placed in a walking boot following the procedure at Atlanta’s Emory Sports Medicine Clinic. His status will be updated in about one week. A second-year player from Duke, Reddish is averaging 11.2 points in 26 games, including 21 starts.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-POLL
Gonzaga continues run at the top
UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga remains entrenched at No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll in its bid to go wire-to-wire.
The Zags received 61 of 63 first-place votes from a media panel as they attempt to become the first wire-to-wire No. 1 since Kentucky in 2014-15.
Baylor had two first-place votes and moved back into the No. 2 slot after dropping a spot last week. Illinois, Michigan and Iowa rounded out the top 5.
No. 8 Arkansas is in the top 10 for the first time since reaching No. 1 in 1994-95.
SUNBELT CHAMPIONSHIP
Koranga, Dye help Troy women claim Sun Belt title, NCAA bid
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Felmas Koranga had 12 points and a career-high 22 rebounds, Alexus Dye recorded her NCAA-leading 22nd double-double, and Troy beat Louisiana-Lafayette 73-65 to claim the Sun Belt Conference tournament and an automatic NCAA bid.
Troy was playing in the title game for the third time since 2016 — winning all three including a 78-64 victory over ULL in the 2016-17 season. Dye finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds and Robinson added 17 points and nine assists. Ty’Reona Doucet scored 14 points, and Skyler Goodwin had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Louisiana, which had its 15-game winning streak snapped.
NFL-COWBOYS-PRESCOTT CONTRACT
Cowboys, QB Prescott finally have agreement on new contract
UNDATED (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott have finally agreed on the richest contract in club history two years after negotiations began with the star quarterback.
A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press it is a $160 million, four-year deal with a record $66 million signing bonus. The deal comes a day before a deadline to put the franchise tag on Prescott for a second straight year at a salary cap charge of $37.7 million. Prescott’s 2020 season was cut short by a compound fracture of his right ankle.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
—A person familiar with the deal says the Tennessee Titans have traded offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson to the Miami Dolphins in a move unloading their first-round draft pick after his rookie season. The trade agreed to Monday night sends the 29th overall pick in 2020 out of Georgia to Miami after Wilson played only four snaps as a rookie. That’s according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither team had announced the swap. NFL.com first reported the trade, saying a swap of picks also is involved.
— A person with knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press that the Seattle Seahawks will release defensive end Carlos Dunlap. The move will leave Seattle without its most proven pass rusher but will also save the Seahawks more than $14 million against the salary cap. Dunlap was acquired by the Seahawks from Cincinnati midway through last season.
— The Minnesota Vikings have signed defensive end Stephen Weatherly to a one-year, $2.5 million contract. The deal brings back one of their past draft picks to try to strengthen a lagging pass rush. Weatherly played last season with the Carolina Panthers. They released him on Feb. 19.
— The Detroit Lions have released linebacker Christian Jones and center Russell Bodine. Detroit also re-signed defensive back Mike Ford. The Lions signed Jones in 2018 and he had one year left on his contract.
— J.C. Hassenauer will get a shot at being the potential replacement for retired Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey. The Steelers have signed the 25-year-old Hassenauer to a one-year contract. Hassenauer was an exclusive rights free agent. Pittsburgh is in the market for a center after Pouncey, a nine-time Pro Bowler, retired on Feb. 12. Hassenauer made three starts at center in 2020 and one at left guard.
—A person with direct knowledge of the move says the New York Jets are placing the franchise tag on safety Marcus Maye. The move Monday night was expected and prevents Maye from becoming an unrestricted free agent when the new league year starts on March 17. NFL teams have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST to use the tag on a pending free agent.
—A traffic case involving Las Vegas Raiders player Josh Jacobs is closed after he completed community service and paid a fine stemming from a vehicle crash in January near McCarran International Airport. Lawyers for the 23-year-old running back said Monday he mentored at a Boys & Girls Club and paid a $500 fine on traffic violation A DUI charge was dropped because Jacobs’ blood-alcohol level was below the legal limit.
NFL-CONCUSSION SETTLEMENT
Judge tosses suit over ‘race-norming’ in dementia tests
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that challenged so-called race-norming in dementia tests for retired NFL players.
Lawyers for some former players say the practice assumes Black athletes start with worse cognitive functioning than their white counterparts. That makes it harder for them to show injury and qualify for awards that average more than $500,000.
The judge in Philadelphia on Monday instead ordered the NFL and the lead lawyer overseeing the settlement to start mediation. That process would appear to exclude the Black players who sued. They are Kevin Henry and Najeh Davenport. The settlement fund has so far paid more than $765 million to retired players.
FRAZIER-FIGHT OF THE CENTURY
Smokin’ Joe Frazier feted with statue, mural in Philly
FEASTERVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Joe Frazier was celebrated in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia on the 50th anniversary of his win over Muhammad Ali in the Fight of the Century.
Frazier had a 9-foot-tall, 1,600-pound statue unveiled at a gym owned by some of his supporters from early in his fight career. There is also a mural in North Philadelphia that his friends and family hope will make sure his legacy lives on long after his death. Frazier died Nov. 7, 2011 after a brief battle with liver cancer at the age of 67. Their first fight at Madison Square Garden was so epic it was billed as the Fight of the Century, and 50 years later it reigns undefeated
